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Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

Saban said Manziel reminds him more of Doug Flutie than Michigan's Denard Robinson or former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, now with the Carolina Panthers. "I had to play against (Flutie) a long time ago," the former Kent State defensive back said. "But he's a really good player, a really good competitor and that's who this guy reminds me of. He can throw it, he's not great big in stature or anything like that, he's extremely quick. He's very instinctive. Has a unique ability to extend plays and seems to know when to take off and run it. And he scrambles and makes plays throwing the ball down the field. "But this is a unique guy in terms of his playmaking ability and his size, quickness and speed and ability to make people miss in space."

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

Sumlin said this game is exactly what they expected since the beginning of the season but noted the Aggies’ crescendo in momentum after winning two pivotal SEC road contests. "We’ve played a lot of places," Sumlin said. "This game has been on the schedule for weeks. We’re not going to change our approach this week in any way. I’ll be more excited Saturday than I am now. For us [this game] couldn’t come at a better time." The Aggies are riding a five-game road winning streak and face the toughest competition in the nation for the first time since the 2003-2004 season when A&M faced Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. The Texas A&M defense is ranked 46th nationally while Alabama’s offense is ranked 48th. Moore said there is no reason to overlook the Heisman-hopeful quarterback in A.J. McCarron. "Their quarterback is up for the Heisman," Moore said. "Their running back core is always talked about. A true freshman running back is doing great things. Yes, they talk more about the defense, but it’s a defensive league."

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

"People have to remember he's only played nine football games and we're nine games into a completely new offense for more than just him," first-year Aggies Coach Kevin Sumlin said. "We should be better than we were nine weeks ago, and I think we are at this point." Like Tebow and Newton, Manziel is proving that spread offenses can cause problems for SEC defenses. Each week he's asked about Manziel, Florida Coach Will Muschamp sounds more relieved that he's done preparing for the Aggies' offense. "They're going to make you defend the entire field, 531/3 yards wide and 120 deep," Muschamp said. "With his athleticism, he creates a lot of issues. You've got to control his rush lanes up front. … You've got to tackle well in space when you play teams like this. Generally, the ball's out very quickly in the passing game, so as far as generating pressure, you've got to rush four guys. You can't continue to pressure five and six guys."

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

[QUOTE]At long last, Alabama week is here. In a 2012 season of plenty of ups and a couple downs, I can say that I have never watched a more fun Aggie football team than this year's bunch. They've been told for months that they'd get killed in the SEC. They've heard the same tired jokes. They even heard the doubt from within Aggie circles. How have they responded? It's November and Texas A&M matters. A lot. Kevin Sumlin carried a quiet confidence in that Birmingham ballroom and it has resonated in this team. Does Texas A&M belong in the SEC? Hell yes. Out of TCU, West Virginia, Mizzou, and A&M, the Aggies are the lone program with a winning conference record. Kevin Sumlin already has as many SEC West wins as Dan Mullen and as many total SEC wins as Derek Dooley. There is a surge of momentum that continues to mount in this program and people are noticing. Recruits are noticing.[/QUOTE

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

You know about quarterback Johnny Manziel, who reminds Tide coach Nick Saban of Doug Flutie, the former Boston College touchdown machine. Saban had to be a young assistant back in the mid-80s-- maybe at Navy or Michigan State -- when Flutie was working on a Heisman Trophy career. Manziel, or Johnny Football, is no Flutie. He's a redshirt freshman running head coach Kevin Sumlin's spread offense that goes no-huddle and frustrates defensive coordinators with its warp speed.

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

Damion Square learned this in 2010 — referred to at Alabama as the year these seniors did not win the title — when he first started on the defensive line. Against Arkansas, Saban called several plays that isolated Square as the playmaker. That day, Square mostly failed. And after one first down in particular — Square had allowed the quarterback to get around him and run free — Saban approached him on the sideline, threw up his hands, and said: "Square, what’s up? That’s you." "I never wanted him to come back to me and give me that type of look again," said Square, who played sparingly the rest of the season, but is now a fifth-year senior and team leader. When Saban disciplines someone, it is Square who consoles them. In general, Square patrols the linemen, Johnson the linebackers and Lester the secondary, and they discuss issues among themselves, so order is kept. "We believe that that way, everybody’s going to get all of the accolades, get drafted where they want to get drafted — those other things come with us playing as a team," Square said.

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

Blake Sims, Alabama’s most athletic quarterback, will do his best to mimic Manziel on Alabama’s scout team this week in practice, as he often does when UA is preparing for a mobile quarterback. "Blake provides us with a good look when we played Michigan and Denard (Robinson) was at quarterback. Everyone always asks you what’s the difference between Denard and this guy named Johnny," said linebacker Adrian Hubbard. "Our scout team, they always give you a good look every week. So I give a lot of credit to them."

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

UVa had a 12:30 p.m. game Saturday and Sims caught pieces of the Alabama-LSU game later that night. "Whenever I do have a chance, I watch those guys," said Sims, who ran for a touchdown and tossed a touchdown pass in UVa's 33-6 victory at North Carolina State. "It was a big game for us and I just wanted to spend some time with my teammates. "Me and A.J., we have conversations every other week or text each other. He said I've helped him - don't ask me how - and I've learned some things from him along the way. Competing brought the best out in both of us."

Re: Latest Bama News 11/9 Pre Game Thru 11/10/2012 Game Day Edition

Alabama, too, also is taking an unusual step in honor of a visiting team: A handful of Bryant's players from A&M, including Crow, will be recognized before the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Paul Bryant Jr. also is holding a reception for Bryant's Aggies in Tuscaloosa. The group includes the famed Junction Boys, but Crow was a freshman at the time and didn't make the trip to Junction for the dogged training camp in 1954. "I like to tell the seniors who were at Junction that we had four Junctions," Crow said with a laugh of Bryant's grueling August camps in College Station, "and they only had one."